More Problems for China
The BBC publishes an update on the casualties figures for the earthquake and highlights yet another problem in the region: China earthquake toll jumps again
The death toll from the massive earthquake in south-west China rose again, as an official said more than five million buildings had collapsed.
Vice-Governor of Sichuan province Li Chengyun said 55,239 people were now know to have died in the 12 May quake.
He appealed for more tents and set a three-year goal to rebuild towns and infrastructure in the region.
Meanwhile, concern is growing over a number of new lakes formed by the force of the earthquake.
Thirty-four lakes were created in the province when landslides blocked rivers, Xinhua news agency said.
Eight held more than 3 million cubic metres of water and one lake, less than 3km ( two miles) from Beichuan town, had doubled in size in four days.
They are expecting rain in the area, and many of the landslides have gouged paths for erosion on the hillsides. The boulders and soil from the hillsides is already blocking the rivers, causing the formation of the lakes that will swell with the rain.
There will be local flooding but a potential major problem is one or more of these accidental dams failing which will send a rush of water down the river bed. Many of the real dams in the area have been weakened in the earthquake and aftershocks. If they are struck by a rush of water, they could fail in a cascading problem, an all too real domino effect.
2 comments
I can’t imagine how overwhelming the government and others must feel over the continually deteriorating situation. Three years is a pretty aggressive target for so many structures.
If they can open some roads and clear the rivers, they can get the equipment in to rebuild. They will use reinforced concrete to build, and the buildings will be identical, so they can move the forms from one site to the next. They are in a position to do this because of their ramp up of capabilities for the Olympics, and the Three Gorges Dam.
Let’s hope that they use rebar and tie it together this time to prevent the tragedy of the school “pancaking”. Given all of the local people who saw what happens when you don’t do it, the new buildings should be a great deal safer.
This is a very active area, and needs stringent building codes.
It has to be wearing people out to seemingly have a new problem every day.